Mail-delivering apparatus.



L. G. TURNER.

MAIL DELIVERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAB.14, 1912.

Patented Dec. 3, 1912.

2 SHEETS8HEET 1.

NU humus L. G. TURNER. MAIL DELIVERING APPARATUS.

I APPLICATION IILBD MAR. 14, 1912. 1,046,039.

Patented Dec. 3, 1912.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

SIM-comma UNITED STATES PATENT @FFIQE.

LEWIS G. TURNER, F CHASE CITY, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR 'IO EUGENE HUME POWELL, OF UNION LEVEL, VIRGINIA.

MAIL-DELIVERING APPARATUS.

Application filed March 14, 1912.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 3, 1912.

Serial No. 683,876.

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEWIS G. TURNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chase City, in the county of Mecklenburg, State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Delivering Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to overhead carriers for transferring mail from the street to the house on rural free delivery routes and the like.

An object of the present invention is to provide an endless cable with means for actuating the same, the cable being supported upon posts or poles which are equipped with novel means for holding the upper and lower lengths of the cable spaced apart at all times while at the same time permitting of the mail receptacle carriage car ried by the cable passing freely back and forth from the street to the house.

A further object of the invention is to provide a carriage having novel means for positively preventing escape of the carriage from its track.

With the above objects in view the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combination of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood that various modifications may be made in the minor details of construction within the scope of the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specificat1on:-Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the device. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken through the carriage with the adjacent parts shown in elevation. Fig. i is a horizontal sectional view through the carriage taken on the line 4t4 Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 5-5 Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawings in which like characters of reference designate similar parts, designates a plurality of posts or poles forming a pole line from the street to the house. Disposed on the street pole is a cross arm 11, and disposed on this cross arm and also on each of the poles is a sub stantially right angular bracket 12, a track in the nature of a metal cable 13 being ter minally connected to the brackets of the house and street poles as shown. Standards 14 are secured to the brackets of the intermediate poles and are provided with grooved heads which receive the track.

On the cross arm 11 of the street pole, and upon the house pole 15 grooved pulleys 16 and 17 are revolubly mounted, an endless cable 18 being trained over these pulleys. The pulley 16 is an idler, and in the present instance is shown journaled on a pin 19 carried by the cross arm 11. The pulley 17 is a driving pulley, and is provided with a hub 20 which is journaled on a pin 21 carried by the house pole 15. For rotating this driving pulley a sprocket gear 22 is fixed to the pulley hub, and over this sprocket gear and a sprocket gear 23 arranged below the pulley is trained a sprocket chain 24, the sprocket gear 28 being equipped with a handle 25 for rotating the same.

I For holding the upper and lower lengths of the cable permanently spaced apart, I equip the poles with eye pins 26 through which the upper length of the cable is loosely trained. Upon the brackets 12 uprights 27 are secured, each upright being equipped near the base with an arm 28 which overhangs and extends outwardly along the bracket and is terminally equipped with an upstanding finger 29, a segmental shaped plate 30 being secured to the tip of the finger with the arcuate edge projecting above the tip and forming a curved bearing surface upon opposite sides of the finger. A second arm 31 is pivotally attached to the upright as shown at 32, this arm being provided terminally with a depending finger 33 which is equipped at the tip with a segmental plate 34:, the curved edge of which confronts the curved edge of the segmental plate 30 and normally bears upon the same. The lower length of the cable is trained over the lower most arms 28 and is confined permanently between the standards and contacting plates of the arms.

The mail carrier consists of a carriage 35 adapted to ride upon the track, and a mail receptacle 86 carried by the carriage. The carriage in the present instance is shown to comprise spaced parallel side plates 37 and 38, connected by a top plate 39 which terminates short of the ends of the side plate. Spaced idlers 40 are journaled in the side plate, these idlers being grooved and riding ners of the bail.

notches 44 formed in the inner face of the outer side plate below the idlers. The lower side of the cable passes through the carriage between the idlers and the bights and is confined therein against escape, removal of the carriage for any reason being eflected by forcing the bights of the spring out of the notches, in which position of the parts the carriage may be lifted vertically from the track.

For attaching the carriage to the endless cable, a substantially U-shaped bail 45 is attached to the rear face of the innermost side plate the cable being fixedly secured to this bail in any preferred manner, and in the present instance the cable is shown to be severed and the extremities tied to the cor- It will be noted that the legs of the bail ride upon the curved upper edges of the segmental plates 30, the segmental plates 34 being forced upwardly during the passage of the bail over the segmental plates 30, and gravitating to operative position upon the bail passing beyond the segmental plates 80.

The mail receptacle in the present in stance is shown to consist of a cylindrical casing 46 which is suspended beneath the carriage through the instrumentality of a bracket 47 carried by the carriage, this bracket being terminally equipped with an eye 48 through which a hooked handle 49 carried by the casing is engaged. The casing is equipped with a removable cover 50 to permit of the insertion and removal of mail.

In operation, supposing the carriage to be at the street end of the track, the mail man inserts the mail in the receptacle after removing the contents thereof which is designed to be mailed, whereupon the operator may rotate the sprocket gear 23 to actuate the cable and retract the carriage along the track in the direction of the house. By reversing the direction of rotation of the sprocket gear the carriage Will be advanced to the street end of the track.

From the above description it will be noted that the carriage rides freely along the track in either direction, and that the carrier, means for actuating the same, a

track extending lon itudinally of one side of said endless carrier, a carriage riding on said track and having mail holding means, a housing encircling said side of said endless carrier comprising a stationary member and a pivoted member confronting said stationary member, and a bail on said carriage secured to said carrier and adapted to pass between said stationary and pivoted members with resultant yielding of said pivoted member during passage of said carriage along said track.

3. In a mail carrying device, an endless carrier, means for actuating said carrier, an upright support, a track carried by said support extending longitudinally along one side of said endless carrier, a carriage on said track having mail holding means, a bail on said carriage secured to said carrier and a housing encircling said side of said carrier including an upright carried by said support, a lower arm fixed to said upright, and an upper arm pivotally secured to said upright, said arms having confronting portions bearing one upon the other, said bail being adapted to pass between said confronting portions with resultant yielding of said pivoted arm upon actuation of said endless carrier. o

4. In a mail carrying device, an endless carrier, means for actuating said carrier, a track, a hollow carriage straddling said track and equipped with mail holding means, spaced idlers within said carriage riding upon said track, a leaf spring on said carriage having a portion projecting into the interior thereof on the opposite side of said track from said idlers and preventing escape of said carriage from said track, and I a bail carried by said carriage secured to said endless carrier.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

LEWIS G. TURNER. Witnesses:

Gno. H. G ANDLEE, FRANCIS BOYLE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

